#lets pretend this hasn't been chilling in my drafts for a solid week

[leiawritesstories]

aelin’s job includes talking on the phone a lot (receptionist? idk) and at the worst moment possible her daughter says she wants to be a call girl just like mommy

i hope you feel better soon! ❤️

the way i WHEEZED when i saw this thank you so much maria 

word count: 1,406

warnings: minor language, major misunderstandings 

Enjoy!!

Just Like Mama

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“All right, I have you booked for next Thursday, the tenth, at eleven o’clock. See you then!” Aelin clicked the button on the side of her headset to disconnect the call and released a muted groan. 

Gods. 

Sometimes she hated working as a receptionist. 

But the pay was good, she got to spend time with her dear friends Lysandra, Elide, and Manon, who co-owned the spa, and she got free or super discounted facials and massages, so she wasn’t complaining. Out loud, at least. They often had picky clientele, the kind of people who wanted things done a certain way and would put up a grand fuss if it wasn’t done the way they envisioned it, and Aelin was known for her ability to soothe ruffled clients and meet their needs without messing up her friends’ carefully constructed routine. 

Hoping for a moment between calls and check-ins, she glanced down at her phone to see a text from Rowan. 

>I’m waiting for Lana to come to the car. 

>Still planning to drop her off with you, yeah? Rowan had a more flexible schedule than she did, as his job allowed him to work part time in the office and part time at home, so he tended to pick their daughter up from school. He did have an important meeting this afternoon, though, so they’d agreed that Lana could stay with Aelin at work for the hour or so until the evening receptionist arrived. 

<Yep. Things are starting to wind down (hopefully) so it’ll be fine.

<Plus Lys and El and Manon spoil her every chance they get. She’ll barely have a moment to be bored. 

>I really should have remembered that. 

<Yeah, you should have. 

>Menace. 

<Your menace 

She could practically hear his soft chuckle. 

>My menace indeed

>Okay, leaving now. Love you. 

<Love you more

Rowan’s car pulled up in front of the spa building fifteen minutes later and a small, blonde-haired, green-eyed girl hopped out of the backseat, a Little Mermaid backpack hanging off one shoulder. She blew a kiss at the car before running into the building, grinning broadly at the way the automatic doors swished open when she approached. 

“Hi Mama!” she called, waving wildly. 

Aelin grinned at her five-year-old daughter. “Hi Lana.” She walked around the desk and went to meet the little girl, smiling as she scooped her into her arms. “How was school today, baby?” 

“Not a baby!” Lana protested. 

“All right, all right, big girl.” 

“School was fun!” Lana opened up her backpack and rustled around in one of the folders inside. “Look! We made handprint turkeys!” 

Aelin almost started crying at how utterly adorable her daughter’s little brown handprint with the bright orange and red feathers and the lopsided googly eyes was. “I love it!” She kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “We can put it on the fridge when we get home.” Lana beamed. 

Another call rang in on Aelin’s headset. “Caraverre Spa, how can I help you?” She went through the motions of booking another reservation, smiling her customer service smile so the nasal-voiced lady on the other end would think she was being pleasant. “You’re very welcome, have a lovely evening!” she chirped, disconnecting the call. 

There was a tug on her leg and she looked down to find big green eyes staring pleadingly up into hers. “Mama?” 

“Yes, Lana?” 

“I gotta go potty.” 

Aelin glanced at the clock. Shit. There was a client coming in three minutes and she couldn’t go to the bathroom with her daughter. “Do you know where the bathroom is, lovey?” 

Lana nodded. “Uh-huh. I go down that hallway and turn left and the bathroom’s right there.” 

“Okay...” Aelin considered. Manon was free for a little bit longer, so she paged her. The platinum-blonde masseuse appeared almost immediately. 

“What d’you need, Galathynius?” 

“Will you walk Lana to the bathroom? We’ve got a client in two and I have to be here to check them in.” 

“Sure.” Manon grinned at Lana. “C’mon, little princess, if you wash your hands like you know you should, I’ll let you pick out a nail color.” 

Lana was hurrying towards the bathroom in seconds, Manon following. 

Aelin chuckled to herself and then turned towards the entrance, seeing the next client coming in. She checked the pair of ladies in, then accepted another call and was talking into her headset when Lana reappeared and tucked herself into a chair by her mother’s side, her curious eyes sneaking glances at the new clients. 

The ladies noticed the little girl and smiled at her politely, their smiles turning rather sour when they saw that she kept stealing glances over at them. 

“Child needs discipline,” one of them whispered, probably thinking she was speaking too low to be heard. 

The other nodded. “Poor thing, her mother there probably barely has time to teach her anything if she’s at work all day.” 

“Which is why mothers should not have jobs,” the first lady sniffed. 

Lana, of course, had heard the entire conversation, as had Aelin, who was still on the phone. Lana’s eyes narrowed and she jumped out of her chair and stood in front of the desk, her arms crossed, eyes narrowed in an expression that was one hundred percent Rowan. “Hey!” 

The ladies stopped whispering abruptly and turned to look at her. “Are you all right, little one?” the first lady asked condescendingly. 

“You don’t talk about Mama like that, it’s mean!” Lana frowned as hard as she could. “And I’m glad Mama has a job. I wanna be a call lady just like her when I grow up!” 

The ladies’ mouths dropped open in horrified shock. 

Aelin ended her call just in time to hear her five-year-old refer to her as a “call lady.” She nearly lost the grip she had on her humor right then and there. 

“Well I never!” huffed the first lady. 

“Such an example!” the second agreed, bobbing her head. 

“Lana,” Aelin said smoothly, “come along back here and finish your worksheet, it’s almost done.” Lana settled, she turned her customer service smile on the whispering ladies. “I do apologize for my daughter’s bluntness, she has a tendency to speak before she thinks.” 

“I’ll say,” the first lady scoffed. 

Aelin’s eyes went steely. “She also has a tendency to refer to people by what she sees them doing, hence ‘call lady’ instead of ‘receptionist.’” Her smile turned vicious. “Or, as another example, ‘gossipers.’” She waved her hand dismissively. “Instead of whatever profession you two enjoy, one that I am entirely certain allows bountiful time to discipline any children you may or may not have.” 

The ladies were stunned into prissy silence. 

Lysandra strolled into the waiting area, flashing Aelin a private little grin. “Good afternoon, ladies,” she greeted the clients. “Please, come this way.” 

“Have a lovely afternoon!” Aelin chirped, smiling pleasantly. She loosed a heavy sigh once the ladies were out of earshot, turning to ruffle her daughter’s hair. “Lana, lovey, haven’t we talked about not yelling inside?” 

“Sorry, Mama,” Lana mumbled. “But they were mean.” 

“I know.” Aelin kissed Lana’s head. “But sometimes, it’s better to not say anything and let your aunties handle the mean ladies, okay?” 

“Okay,” Lana reluctantly agreed. She stayed mostly quiet for the rest of the hour, just looking up with her big green irresistible eyes whenever another client checked in. 

At four-thirty, Aelin pushed away from the desk, switching off her headset. She tapped a few keys on her computer to clock out, then ruffled her daughter’s pale blonde hair. “You ready to go home, lovey?” 

“Yeah!” Lana put her coloring book into her backpack and popped out of her chair, bouncing on her toes. “Can we make pancakes for dinner, Mama?” She widened her eyes, pleading. “Pleeeeease?” 

Who was she to resist her daughter’s puppy eyes? “Of course, but Dad makes better pancakes than I do.” 

Lana squealed happily, running to the car. The faster she could get home and have pancakes, the better, in her mind. Aelin smiled fondly as she helped her into her booster, closed the door behind her, and drove home, turning the radio on for background noise. And to keep Lana engaged, rather than letting her fall asleep on the ride home. 

Unbidden, the term Lana had used popped back into her mind, making her snort with laughter. 

Call lady. 

Yeah, that one would crack Rowan up.